The Jubilee Year of Hope: A Pilgrimage That Opened My Heart
- SJE
- Dec 22, 2025
- 4 min read
Steps of faith with family and friends
Wow! I have recently returned from my first pilgrimage outside the country—and my heart is still catching up to my feet.
From December 1–12, I walked ancient stones and holy thresholds in Italy with 45 fellow pilgrims. Among them were my husband, one of our five children, and a niece. What unfolded over those two blessed weeks was far more than travel. It was surrender. It was grace. It was a quiet but powerful “yes” that I will be unpacking for years to come.
A Pilgrimage Rooted in the Eucharist
Each day was anchored in the Eucharist, celebrated by our spiritual leaders, Father Peter Muha and Father Marty Dobryzinski. Daily Mass—sometimes offered in places where saints once prayed and suffered—transformed time itself.
And each place revealed a different face of God’s beauty—artistic, humble, wild, and tender. Between basilicas and catacombs, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain, the Amalfi Coast and countless side streets, faith was no longer just something I believed. It was something I walked inside.
Assisi: Where Suffering Gave Birth to Praise
In Assisi, we visited San Damiano, where St. Francis, in agony and obedience, composed his breathtaking hymn of praise, “Laudato Si,” also known as “Brother Sun.”
Standing there, I understood something new: how suffering can give birth to joy, and how praise often rises most beautifully from brokenness.
We also visited the church where the body of millennial saint Carlo Acutis rests. Seeing him there—peaceful, joyful, radiant—felt like a reminder that holiness is not distant or outdated. My husband and I prayed a rosary there and entrusted our special intentions to his intercession.
Encountering the Communion of Saints
I experienced a profound sacred intimacy at St. Clare’s Basilica, in Assisi, where her remains rest. To worship in the physical presence of a saint—a woman who surrendered everything for Christ—was humbling beyond words. And yes, I finally understand what it meant to be cloistered.
While my favorite town was Assisi, one moment that will remain etched on my soul forever occurred when we landed in Rome.
In the crypt beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, I experienced the Communion of Saints in a deeply personal and profoundly real way.
I live with aphantasia—I cannot conjure images in my mind—yet in that sacred space, something extraordinary happened. I did not see the saints, but I knew them. I felt surrounded. Heaven felt near. Not imagined, but encountered.
Walking the Holy Doors of the Jubilee
The heart of our pilgrimage was walking through the Four Holy Doors of the Jubilee in Rome —visible signs of invisible mercy.
We rose before dawn to enter the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica, arriving by 7 a.m., the first pilgrims there that day. As the door opened, something within me opened too.
We continued to St. Mary Major, radiant with Marian mosaics proclaiming God’s tenderness through His Mother. Then to the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, the Pope’s cathedral and the oldest, most important church in the Western world.
With more than 400 Catholic churches in Rome—nearly one every two or three blocks—faith is not hidden there. It breathes.
Our final Holy Door was at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, built over the burial site of the Apostle who carried the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Fittingly, this last threshold spoke of mission—of faith meant to be lived and shared.
An Audience That Made the Church Feel Personal
The moment that took my breath away was near the end of the journey, but before we went to the final Holy Door. I felt completely and personally immersed in the Church during our audience with Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square!
As he moved through the crowd in his Popemobile—blessing children, smiling warmly, responding to a cheerful “Go White Sox!”—the Church felt personal and alive. He blessed us, our sacramentals, and our loved ones back home.
In that moment, grace poured out in a way words can barely hold.
Other Beautifully Impactful Moments
On another day, a small group returned to the Holy Steps, believed to be those Jesus ascended during His Passion. Step by step, prayer by prayer, repentance felt tangible!
Another quiet but powerful grace was time spent with our diocesan seminarians, Gianni DiTola and Ryan Pierce, who are studying in Rome. We had the most fantastic four-course meal and delightful conversations. Watching these young men live their vocation—studying in Italian, growing in faith, strengthening both body and soul—was a reminder that God is still calling, still forming hearts, and still building His Church.
Ending with a Fresh Start Through Mercy
The Holy Doors represent Christ Himself—the Gate—inviting us to pass from sin into mercy, from burden into freedom. Walking through them, accompanied by Mass, confession, and prayer, offers a plenary indulgence: a complete remission of temporal punishment for sin.
A fresh start. A clean slate. A soul renewed. And I am all in!
Call to Action: Conclude the Jubilee Year of Hope With Me
Grace does not end with a pilgrimage—it invites response.
I invite you to conclude the Jubilee Year of Hope with me on January 4 at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels, 640 Tyler St., Gary.
The day begins with 11 a.m. Mass, followed by Eucharistic Adoration and Confession from noon to 5 p.m., and concludes with Solemn Vespers at 5 p.m.
Whether you walked the Holy Doors in Rome or are opening your heart right where you are, this is your invitation to step into mercy, renewal, and hope.
Come.
Cross the threshold.
Let grace do what only grace can do.